Rouba Mhaissen (born 1987/1988) is a Syrian-Lebanese economist and activist. She is the founder of Sawa for Development and Aid, a grassroots organization which serves Syrian refugees in Lebanon, [1] and the British-based Sawa Foundation. [2]
Mhaissen was born in Beirut. She has two brothers and a sister, of whom she is ten years younger. [1] Her mother was a Lebanese homemaker, while her father was a Syrian businessman. [1] As a child she frequently visited Syria to see family. [2] [3]
She attended the American University of Beirut, earning a degree in economics, and then the London School of Economics, where she earned a master's degree in development studies. She was persuaded to study economics by her parents, rather than to pursue her love of theater. [1] She also holds a PhD in gender and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. [1]
In 2006, Mhaissen worked with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; in later years, she worked with Lebanese refugees in Syria. [1] [3]
In December 2011, Mhaissen founded Sawa for Development and Aid. [1] [4] The organization provides support related for basic needs to Syrian refugees in the Beqaa Valley, such as shelter, blankets, and food. It also organizes workshops to educate refugee women. [4]
Mhaissen has promoted grassroots activism over international aid efforts. [4]
In 2016, Mhaissen received the Marsh Award for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. [3]
In 2017 she was named on Forbes 30 Under 30 list of the most influential people in Policy and Law. [5]
In 2019 she was given the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award, and the Rafto Prize “for defending human rights from the local to the global level for people living as refugees”. [1] [6]
Mhaissen is married and has two children. [1]
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, by Israel to the south, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance away from the country's coastline. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterlands has contributed to the country's rich history and shaped a unique cultural identity denoted by religious diversity. Located in the Levant region of the Eastern Mediterranean, the country has a population of more than five million people and covers an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Lebanon's capital and largest city is Beirut, followed by Tripoli and Jounieh. While Arabic is the official language, French is also recognized in a formal capacity; Lebanese Arabic is the country's vernacular, though French and English play a relatively significant role in everyday life, with Modern Standard Arabic being limited to news and government matters.
The American University of Beirut is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people living in Lebanon may face discrimination and legal difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT residents, although they have more freedom than in other parts of the Arab world. Various courts have ruled that Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which prohibits having sexual relations that "contradict the laws of nature", should not be used to arrest LGBT people. Nonetheless, the law is still being used to harass and persecute LGBT people through occasional police arrests, in which detainees are sometimes subject to intrusive physical examinations.
Human rights in Lebanon refers to the state of human rights in Lebanon, which were considered to be on par with global standards in 2004. Some believed to be criminals and terrorists are said to be detained without charge for both short and long periods of time. Freedom of speech and of the press are ensured to the citizens by the Lebanese laws which protect the freedom of each citizen. Palestinians living in Lebanon are heavily deprived of basic civil rights. They cannot own homes or land, and are barred from becoming lawyers, engineers and doctors. However, the Lebanese government has reduced the number of restricted jobs and created a national dialogue committee for the issue. During the Arab Spring, Lebanon experienced major protests and sectarian violence, but avoided the large-scale political upheaval seen in many parts of the Arab world.
Arwa Damon is an American journalist who was most recently a senior international correspondent for CNN, based in Istanbul. From 2003, she covered the Middle East as a freelance journalist, before joining CNN in 2006. She is also president and founder of INARA, a humanitarian organization that provides medical treatment to refugee children from Syria.
Cedric Prakash,, is a Catholic priest and a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) of Gujarat in India. He is currently based in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat in Western India. He is well known for his work on human rights, reconciliation, and peace activism, with a focus on advocacy. He is also a prolific writer on subjects related to social justice, peace, communal harmony, environment, contextual spirituality, and the Constitution of India. His articles are regularly published in newspapers, magazines, and journals in India and abroad. He is also a visiting faculty in some colleges, universities, and seminaries in India, Europe, and the USA. Fr. Prakash speaks four languages - English, Gujarati, Hindi and French.
Iraqis in Lebanon are people of Iraqi origin residing in Lebanon and Lebanese citizens of Iraqi ancestry. Statistics for Iraqi refugees in Lebanon vary, but typically put the number at around 50,000.
The roles of women in Lebanon have evolved throughout history. The legal status of women transformed over the 20th century, but traditional patriarchal norms and conservative versions of Islamic law continue to influence women's rights in Lebanon.
Rima Maktabi is a Lebanese TV presenter and award-winning journalist who returned to al-Arabiya after hosting CNN's monthly program Inside the Middle East for two years and previously working at the Arab satellite channel since 2005. She was among several female Arab journalists who first became known through her reporting during the 2006 Lebanon War and who had successful careers afterward, including Maktabi and her former colleague at al-Arabiya Najwa Qassem.
She's the First(STF) is a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "team up with grassroots organizations to make sure girls everywhere are educated, respected, and heard." She's the First was founded in New York, NY by Tammy Tibbetts and Christen Brandt and operates remotely with headquarters in New York, NY, United States and Nairobi, Kenya. The organization's stated vision is "a world where every girl chooses her own future."
The DVF Awards, supported by The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, are given annually to provide recipients with the exposure and resources necessary to extend their efforts on behalf of women all over the world. The DVF Awards were conceived by Diane von Furstenberg in 2010 with the goal of honoring women who have displayed leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to their causes. Every year, each Honoree receives a $100,000 grant from the Foundation to further their work. The inaugural DVF Awards were presented on March 13, 2010 at a ceremony hosted by Diane von Fürstenberg and Tina Brown at the United Nations on the closing night of The Women in the World Summit. Each year, two DVF Awards are given to women within The Vital Voices Global Partnership. In addition, the Inspiration Award is given to a woman who has demonstrated strength and courage in the face of adversity, and is using her experience and influence to effect positive change. The People's Voice Award is also given annually to a woman chosen from a field of nominees selected by The DVF Awards Board of Advisors and voted on by the public at DVFAwards.com. The Lifetime Leadership Award honors an individual who has dedicated her life and body of work to instilling in other women the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire. Past recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Ingrid Betancourt, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Robin Roberts.
Amal Clooney is a Lebanese and British barrister. Notable clients of hers include former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, Iraqi human rights activist Nadia Murad, and the journalists Maria Ressa, and Mohamed Fahmy.
Dayna Ash is a Lebanese cultural and social activist, feminist, playwright, performance poet, and the Founder & Executive Director of the non-profit arts organization, Haven for Artists based in Beirut, Lebanon. She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2019, and received the 2020 Woman of Distinction award from NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York NGO/CSW/NY.
Ghada Chreim Ata, born on 30 September 1968, is a Lebanese female politician and professor of French literature at the Lebanese University.
Karam Alhamad is a Syrian journalist and human rights activist, and former political detainee. Alhamad is also known for his efforts to cover the Syrian uprising, including being jailed four times between 2011 and 2014.
May Rihani was born in Beirut, though her family hails from Freike, Matn District, Lebanon. She is an expert on girls' education and women's empowerment. She worked in more than 40 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia and visited 30 more to implement educational reform and in particular improve girls' education. She was a Senior Vice President of three leading US organizations that worked in International Development: Family Health International, the Academy for Educational Development (AED), and Creative Associates International. Ms Rihani served as the co-chair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) between 2008 and 2010. She is fluent in Arabic, French and English, is a writer and poet, and a women's rights activist.
Monika Borgmann-Slim is a German–Lebanese journalist, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and archivist. She is an activist against what she describes as Lebanon's culture of impunity and Vergangenheitsbewältigung, countering official amnesia about the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). She is the widow of the Lebanese filmmaker, archivist and activist Lokman Slim, who was assassinated in 2021.
Sarah Mardini, alternative spelling Sara Mardini, is a Syrian former competition swimmer, lifeguard and human rights activist. Fleeing her country in 2015 during the Syrian civil war with her sister, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, they pulled their boat with other refugees towards the Mediterranean coast of Greece, saving themselves and the other passengers. Continuing their journey across the Balkans, they reached Berlin, Germany, the same year. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023, alongside her sister.
Germany–Lebanon relations are "traditionally friendly" and "very close", according to the German Foreign Office. For Lebanon, Germany is one of the most important donor countries for the care of the numerous refugees in the country. Among the Arabs in Germany, the Lebanese are among the largest groups with almost 160,000 members (2021).
Events in the year 2023 in Lebanon.